Europe’s construction output edges upwards

Double digit year-on-year increases in Romania and Poland helped push overall construction output in Europe higher in November last year, according to the latest figures from Eurostat.

Compared with November 2010, seasonally adjusted production in the Euro area increased 0.2%, while production in the EU27 increased 0.9%.

Building construction increased 0.5% year-on-year in the Euro area and 0.3% in the EU27, while output in the civil engineering sector fell 2.6% in the Euro area, but rose 1.3% in the EU27.

The highest increases were registered in Romania (16.9%), Poland (14.7%) and Germany (9.9%), and the largest decreases were seen in Portugal (-12.2%), Bulgaria (-10.2%) and Slovenia (-10.0%).

On a monthly comparison, the highest increases were registered in Slovenia (23.1%), Hungary (7.4%) and Germany (4.5%) in November 2011, compared with October 2011. But construction output fell in Spain and Slovakia (both -0.7%) and Bulgaria (-0.3%).

Overall, seasonally adjusted production rose by 0.8% in the Euro area and by 0.4% in the EU27 in November, compared with the previous month. Building construction increased by 0.4% in the Euro area and by 0.8% in the EU27, while civil engineering output fell by 0.6% in the Euro area, but rose by 0.1% in the EU27.